1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for cutting food, and more precisely an apparatus for cutting toroidal shaped food, such as a bagel.
2. Description of Related Art
A bagel is generally circular in shape, its circular diameter defining its width, and is rounded on its top and bottom surfaces, the distance between these surfaces defining its height or thickness. Also, a bagel has a hole through its center, passing through the bagel along the axis of thickness. Prior to eating a bagel, one usually cuts it in half through a plane transverse to the axis of thickness, in order to sandwich other foodstuff, such as cream cheese, within the resulting cut faces of the bagel.
Cutting a bagel in half, though, poses a risk of accidently cutting one's hands or fingers due to its rounded shape. Consequently, various food cutting devices specifically adaptable to cutting a bagel are known in the prior art. Simple devices include generally rectangularly shaped boxes having a cavity for inserting a bagel and opposing knife slots for guiding a knife during the cutting action. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,106 issued Aug. 14, 1990 to Ronald Popeil and Alan Backus shows a food cutting apparatus which is an open ended, generally trapezoidal box with opposing slots to guide a knife. While this apparatus accomplishes its object of cutting food, the food is not secure and may slip or turn during the cutting motion.
Other devices similar to the above invention in their basic functional design include U.S. Pat. No. Des. 343,770 issued Feb. 1, 1994 to Jay A. McFarling and Jennie E. McFarling. An oak bagel cutter for sale in the Gifts & Decorative Accessories catalog, October 1984, p. 122, improves upon such design by including a slidable rod for abutting against the side of a bagel, thereby holding it in place. U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,953 issued Jan. 9, 1996 to John A. McLeod also describes an apparatus with a base and two vertically attached and opposing sides, but one side is moveable to adjust to a bagel's thickness. Another similar device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,445 issued Feb. 10, 1981 to Richard J. Browning, the device having one vertical side and leaning, pivotal second side for holding the bagel.
A more complex apparatus is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,430 issued Nov. 26, 1996 to Glenn K. Gunderson and William K. Gunderson. The apparatus has a rotatable indexing disc which may be moved to various positions corresponding to the desired thickness of the slice. The problem with this arrangement is that only one side of a food product is supported by the apparatus. Thus, movement of a bagel while being sliced is highly likely.
Another complex device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,338,282 issued Aug. 29, 1967 to Paul P. Blum. The '282 patent shows a bagel slicer with a pair of opposing mounted adjustable disks for holding the bagel in place, which discs are mounted on a rotatable spindle supported by a pair of struts depending upwardly from a base. The Blum device also comprises a pivotal knife attached to the bagel slicer which is brought into contact with a bagel fixed on and rotated on the spindle. A problem with this arrangement is that the knife has to be specifically designed for use with the Blum device; thus, if the user wanted to replace the knife, a special effort must be made to locate a replacement. Another problem with this arrangement concerns safety. Since the knife is attached to the bagel slicer, the blade is left out in the open when not in use, posing a danger of being cut.
An elaborate device with a spring loaded plate for retaining a bagel is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,666 issued Nov. 8, 1994 to Milo M. Kensrue. The plate applies pressure to one end of the bagel, while the other end is supported by an adjustable fixed plate. The problem with this apparatus is the complexity of its moving parts which could wear with multiple use.
Food cutting devices have also been described in foreign patents or applications. The following are samples of less relevant food cutting inventions found in foreign patents or applications: U.K. Patent Specification No. 735,446 published Aug. 24, 1955 (A New or Improved Cutting Board for Domestic Use); U.K Patent Specification No. 1,468,248 published Mar. 23, 1977 (Cutting Device for Foodstuffs); and, U.K. Patent Application No. 2,172,494A published Sep. 24, 1986 (Bread Slicing Guide).
None of the above patents or publications disclose an invention which holds toroidal shaped food between two easily connected disk shaped members, while allowing for rotation around the bagel's height axis while the bagel is being cut using a standard knife. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.